Xbox

Microsoft Reverses Course On Xbox Live Price Increase

Following widespread customer backlash, Microsoft released a statement walking back its Friday morning announcement of sweeping price increases for the Xbox Live Gold subscription service. According to the details outlined in this morning’s announcement, the minimum yearly cost of Xbox Live Gold would have soared from $60 to $120. But at 11:52 p.m. ET, Microsoft…

Microsoft Doubles Cost Of Xbox Live From What It Was A Year Ago

Xbox Live Gold, Microsoft’s online service for Xbox, is about to get more expensive. The company announced this morning that subscriptions will go up by $1 to $11 a month in the coming weeks. The new cheapest option for an annual subscription is paying for the $60 six month plan twice, double what a year…

Late capitalism roguelike Going Under has a new update out called Working From Home that adds more locations, outfits, and modes. You can start playing it today on PC, but will need to wait until February 25 for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. 

Developer Delivers Expletive-Filled But Correct Rant About Xbox Series X’s Dumb Name

Game director Josef Fares is known for his penchant for saying whatever’s on his mind unfiltered. Also cursing a lot. “Fuck the Oscars,” he notably said back during the 2017 Game Awards. Now he’s back, this time roasting the Xbox Series X/S’s mind-numbing naming conventions. In an interview over at IGN, Fares was asked about…

Otterbox Is Making Mobile Gaming Gear Now

Otterbox, one of the biggest names in phone and tablet cases, has teamed up with Microsoft to create a new line of clips, cases, and grips aimed at making the most of mobile gaming services like Xbox Game Streaming and Apple Arcade. Otterbox has been making rugged cases for mobile devices since there have been…

Game Pass Is Still Missing Most Of The Final Fantasy Games Microsoft Promised

At the end of 2019, Microsoft announced 10 Final Fantasy games would come to Game Pass in the following year. At the start of 2021 most of them are still missing, though Microsoft says they’ll get there eventually. During the X019 livestream event in London near the tail end of 2019, Microsoft announced a bunch…

Duracell Official Suggests Xbox Controllers Use Of AA Batteries In Influenced By Deal With Battery Company

While every other console controller on the market uses internal rechargeable batteries, Xbox’s still let you use AA batteries to power them, and new remarks by a Duracell spokesperson possibly shed some light on why this is. “There’s always been this partnership with Duracell and Xbox…it’s a constant agreement that Duracell and Microsoft have in…

Former Xbox Executives Say Nintendo ‘Laughed Their Asses Off’ When Microsoft Offered To Buy It

Microsoft once proposed buying Nintendo in order to lock in its first-party games for the Xbox. The Japanese video game company didn’t just decline to entertain the offer; it laughed the tech giant’s executives out of the room, according to a new report by Bloomberg. “Steve [Ballmer, Microsoft’s former CEO] made us go meet with…

Xbox Emulation Is Coming Along Nicely

While platforms as recent as the PS3 and even the Switch are now running very nicely in emulators, the original Xbox has remained something of a thorn in the side of the scene. So it’s cool to see the xemu emulator making such solid progress. xemu’s v0.5 has recently been released, and this video shows…

Here’s January 2021’s Xbox Live Games With Gold

Writing “2021” in a headline is giving me more feelings than I expected, so thanks for that, Xbox. January’s Games with Gold lineup is a mix of horror and fighting games; as always, these games are only “free” if you have an active Xbox Live Gold Subscription. January’s Games with Gold are: Little Nightmares (Jan…

The State Of Xbox In 2020

This time last year, Microsoft’s current flagship console was little more than a swanky video spot aired during a swanky awards show. Now, it’s the capstone to one of the biggest years for Xbox in recent memory. Time sure works in funny ways. Yes, it’s been almost one year to the day since Microsoft officially…

Hivebusters Is A Great Gears DLC And A Fantastic Xbox Series X Showcase

Hivebusters is a new single-player DLC campaign released for Gears 5. It’s also one of the best-looking games on Xbox Series X and feels like a full Gears game compressed into a bite-size experience that has me excited for the future of Gears of War.  This new $20 DLC campaign, which was released on December…

Cyberpunk 2077 Refund Options Expand, With Updates From Xbox, Best Buy, And CD Projekt Itself [Update]

Update (3:03 p.m. ET, 12/18/2020): Cyberpunk 2077 refund options continue to grow for disappointed players. In addition to both Sony and Microsoft loosening their refund policies, Best Buy and even CD Projekt itself have promised to make things right for customers. According to a Best Buy social media specialist, the retailer will refund physical copies…

Among Us is out on Game Pass for PC today, Microsoft announced in a blog post. The popular betrayal party game will come to the rest of Game Pass for Xbox consoles sometime next year.

EA Play won’t be coming to Xbox Game Pass for PC until some time next year The addition—which is already part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (for console)—was planned for this month.

Yakuza 6, originally a PS4 exclusive, is heading to PC and Xbox Game Pass in March 2021 internationally. So is the Yakuza Remastered Collection, which includes former PlayStation exclusives, Yakuza 3, 4, and 5. Sega says it currently has no plans to make similar announcements for Japan. Update – 1/7/20 4:27AM: A spokesperson for the…

Four Generations Of Xbox Consoles Can Play The Same Game Together

When we think of backwards compatibility we tend to only think of a game from an older system running on its replacement. But as this video shows, in the right circumstances, a console released in 2001 can play the same game at the same time as one released in 2020, as well as the two…

Microsoft, Sony, And Nintendo Team Up To Promote Safer Gaming

In a post shared across all three companies’ websites this morning, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft have released a joint set of principles to foster a safe gaming environment across all of their platforms. Posted under the title “Our Shared Commitment to Safer Gaming,” the triumvirate present a three-pronged approach to ensuring their platforms are a…

Surgeon General Compares Developing Covid Vaccine To Playing Xbox

The first Covid-19 vaccines began being distributed in the US today, and amidst the rollout Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams took to Fox News to talk about the race to develop a cure for the pandemic. And to do that he started talking about Xbox. “I want to put it in Christmas-think for people out…

Some People Are Playing Cyberpunk 2077 A Day Early On Xbox By Switching Time Zones

Cyberpunk 2077 doesn’t officially release until 12:01 a.m. on December 10, but Xbox owners are already playing the game by manipulating their console’s time and location data. As Video Game Chronicle’s Andy Robinson pointed out on Twitter overnight, players can simply change the location on an Xbox One or Series X/S to New Zealand, where…